Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,465 in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Health outcomes beat most towns: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 31% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Cost of living is its weak spot (C−) — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 8.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work (C+): 62% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 7% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023. Salles-sur-Mer has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The one thing Salles-sur-Mer does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Salles-sur-Mer with other French towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far its rank is from the middle. American and UK towns are graded separately.
Salles-sur-Mer has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Salles-sur-Mer, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
The oldest protected part dates from the 16th century; the first monument here was protected in 1925.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Salles-sur-Mer.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Average lifespans in Charente-Maritime: 85.5 years for women, 79.6 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. 152 deaths in Salles-sur-Mer between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 220: 31% below. For a family doctor, residents of Salles-sur-Mer can choose among 3 GPs.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · The care-home figures behind this are our own model (TownRatings), not official statistics.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €3,191/m², comes from 76 sales of houses and apartments in Salles-sur-Mer from July 2023 to June 2026. The sales split: 97% houses, the rest apartments.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,191/m² | 74 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The closest collège is 2.2 mi off. For the general bac, the closest lycée is 5.4 mi away.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège André MalrauxNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 178 | 93%−1 pt |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
27% of residents are 65 or over, below Charente-Maritime’s towns (36%) but above compared French towns (22%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for nearly one in ten residents. Children under 15 count for 17% of the people here.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%.
| Salles-sur-Mer | Charente-Maritime median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 12% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 8.6% | 7.6% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 17% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 27% | 36% | 22% |
| No diploma | 11% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 21% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 44% | 27% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Charente-Maritime median and France median: the median of compared communes
Salles-sur-Mer holds 500 jobs; 1,050 of its residents are in work, so 0.5 jobs each. 7.9% of the labour force were unemployed, lower than both Charente-Maritime’s towns (11.0%) and compared French towns (10.1%). The census found 7.4% of commuters going to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its heritage reaches back to the 16th century. Homes from before 1919 make up 9.3% of the total, above both Charente-Maritime’s towns (8.7%) and compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Among the graded crimes in Salles-sur-Mer, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025). For 2025, the figures show 24 offenses in the town. Violence against people averaged 2.4 per 1,000 residents a year over 2023–2025; graded property crimes averaged 12.2.
Not in the gradeTheft without violence, drug use and fraud are shown for information but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence plus burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and criminal damage per resident.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · Small counts of family violence, other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary and theft from vehicles go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 27.0% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Heritage, family days out and other places to visit in and near Salles-sur-Mer. Best known first.
ChâteauChâteau de Buzay3.3 km northwest, in La JarneChâteauChâteauChâteau de l'Herbaudièrein townChâteauChâteauChâteau du Roulletin townTheme parkTheme parkPop Corn Labyrinthe3.2 km northwest, in La JarneChâteauChâteauChâteau de Clavette4.7 km northeast, in ClavettePhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Salles-sur-Mer, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Salles-sur-Mer yet.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salles-sur-Mer | 2,465 | — | — | C− | — | A |
| La Jarne | 2,637 | 1.8 | — | C− | — | B− |
| Châtelaillon-Plage | 6,653 | 2.5 | B | D | C+ | B+ |
| Angoulins | 4,240 | 2.6 | A− | D | C+ | A− |
| La Jarrie | 3,458 | 2.8 | — | C | — | B+ |
| Aytré | 9,746 | 3.8 | C | D | C | C+ |
| Périgny | 8,877 | 4.3 | B+ | D− | C+ | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Salles-sur-Mer has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average.
They grade B+, better than 71% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €3,191/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Salles-sur-Mer grades C− for cost of living.
Commune in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Salles-sur-Mer is a commune of 2,465 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de La Rochelle. TownRatings compares communes, France’s local unit: each has its own mayor and its own statistics. Its area takes in the town and the countryside around it.
Built from INSEE’s 2026 official geography (COG) and IGN Admin Express boundaries
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated November 4, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.